derkaderka

Oh and a feature request. With the new tweakables, mechjeb doesn't change it's TWR calculations with the thrust limiter slider. I'm using the Mechjeb2 files that were just posted

Just wanted to post a .23 bug. Back in .22, whenever you had the VAB deltaV window open, the staging interface would do weird things. Now in .23 with mechjeb attached to a spacecraft you cannot manipulate the lower two stages above the "reset" button. I've tried dragging things down there, but they stop or get frozen. Take off mechjeb and the problem disappears. Sounds like an invisible window bug. Anyone else having this?

I recently decided to stray from the usual asparagus staging and experiment with old-school serial staging (stage on top of stage). Turns out its really reliable and safe for launch vehicles! Reddit post: http://www.reddit.com/r/KerbalSpaceProgram/comments/1mgbe9/an_experiment_in_highlyreliable_serial_staging/ Imgur of the ship(s): http://imgur.com/a/tQGtE

Also don't fear. Spaceplanes and ESPECIALLY SSTO's are infuriating but extremely rewarding once you get it down.

Ah yes. I feex. First off, for hyper-sonic planes it is a good idea to have the center of lift slightly behind your center of mass. You might already know that and when you drop those tanks I suppose the COM moves forwards. Secondly the crashing on the runway might be because the gear are wobbley. Thanks to ksp physics, parts that are attached to parts that are attached to parts are wobbley. Look at how many things are attached to other things, you should visibly see some wobble. Try adding struts from the gear to the main belly parts or at least to something it's not already attached to. If that fails, redesign so that the gear are less wobbley. Edit: yeah I can definetly see how much the plane saggs in the middle. That ain't good while you're on the ground. add spacetape

Oh. Center of Mass and Center of Lift. They are the buttons near symmetry and snap. You use the symmetry button right?

Not on KSP-ready machine. Can you attach a JPG of your craft on runway? Also a pic of your COM and COL in the VAB BBQ. Also try struts. Struts to landing gear. Struts to everywhere.

how does it land on water without splodin?

Experienced SSTO spaceplane builder here. The issue is often caused by the plane getting lifted, just not enough, and in asymetrical places. This causes uneven-ness in load to the landing gear, causing a cornering effect. As this continues, the lift surfaces naturally curve the spaceplane into a roll and kersplat. A quick fix to this is to have the front gear slightly higher than the rear gear. This makes the entire spacecraft point down a few degrees. Since KSP uses angle of attack to simulate lift, this creates downforce and lots of contact and stability with the ground. Also in my experience angled landing gear (like an upside down V) can do this, so maybe keep them upright. As to what NAF says, front canards aren't always necessary and IMO lead to more flip-outs then they're worth. A streamlined design with all control surfaces at the back likes to weather-vane into the direction of travel. They do provide alot of lift during take-off tho, so its a trade-off. If you're having trouble lifting off, try moving the control surfaces as far back from the gear as possible, and moving the gear to right behind the COM.